In July 2022, FC Barcelona completed the massive signing of prospect star Raphinha Dias. Being on the back of a brilliant campaign with PL side Leeds, the Blaugrana club spent a hefty £50 million to acquire his services. Given the Brazilian's potential, he was brought to succeed on the lines laid by club legends Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, and Neymar.
FC Barcelona's club captain opens up upon his difficult start at the club
Fast forward to now, and Raphinha has established himself as one of the biggest matchwinners for FC Barcelona. Having had an excellent start to the 2024/25 campaign, the Brazilian star has 19 goal contributions in just 14 appearances, leading the Blaugrana club's attack force. Moreover, Raphinha has been vital for Barca's success on and off the field in managing his armband duties with utmost priority.
But while, clearly, he has become an irreplaceable asset for FC Barcelona now, the Brazilian mentions that he didn't have an easy start to his club career here. In his initial 13 appearances for FC Barcelona, Raphinha had only 2 goal contributions to his name while being benched a couple of times as well. Mentioning the situation back then, the versatile star recounts that the club had even considered him selling at that time.
While even in this summer window, rumors had linked him to an exit move, Raphinha expressed that he never felt the situation as serious as in his initial months. Replying to whether Barca wanted to sell him at any time, Raphinha said,
""At times, yes. Especially during the first six months, before the World Cup. I also felt it in other transfer windows. They always said one thing or another, that I wasn’t good enough, that they needed to sell me.""Raphinha
Although certainly acclimatizing from the Premier League to the Spanish League took a toll on him, the Brazilian recounts how the lack of trust from the then-manager affected him. Club legend Xavi, who was the Barcelona in charge, didn't have an extremely brilliant relationship with Raphinha, which the player describes saying,
""With Xavi, I knew that no matter what I did, I would be taken off in the 60th minute. This is not a criticism of him, but it's funny because it always happened.""Raphinha
However, now that the turmoil initial phase feels over for the Brazilian superstar, with him currently being in the form of his life, Barca fans would hope that he continues this way, playing a crucial role in their quest for major titles this season.